Hey everyone, I’m on Twitter now. So, if you’re interested in seeing my adventurous life as it unfolds, follow me.
By the way, does anyone know of a bug in Firefox for Mac where you can’t save images by right-clicking?
I’ve been busy with little to show for it, except this list.
My other primary distraction from the world has been Mario Kart. One word: SUPERFUN! I love that
there’s old courses on this one, though the only ones I know are the N64 ones. Using the steering wheel is far easier than a joystick. I’m winning most of my Gran Prix races, so I haven’t lost my touch apparently. Then
again, I haven’t started on 150cc yet. I’m a little scared. I’m excited to play online with friends who live far away with their Wiis. Weeeee!!!
I wanted to get another Wii Wheel for guests, but the Target and Best Buy in Eden Prairie were sold out. The Target guy said that more Mario Kart games were made and sent out than wheels. That’s another strike against Nintendo in my book. Hello - that’s simple math! There’s four possible controllers for every Wii, so naturally you need at least four Wii Wheels per copy of the game. I finally found one tonight at Circuit City, though I think it was $5 more there than at Best Buy. Whatever.
This year’s Voltage Fashion Amplified was bittersweet. It was my friend Nathan’s (aka George Moskal to the rest of the city) second and final time showing at this prestigious event in Minneapolis. He’s moving to Portland, which I’m sad about but I cannot wait to go visit him all the time. I adore Portland.
We were hoping this year would be better than last year in a few ways. One was that the First Ave staff stupidly refused to let to let others go into the VIP Lounge after the show to help the designers (or anyone) get their shit packed up. Last year I whisked past the security dude somehow, but this year he stopped us cold and wouldn’t let us in. Tell me, First Ave, what is the point? Don’t you want those people out of there as quickly as possible, especially when you know there’s an afterparty everyone wants to go to? It’s not like you’re going to sell tons of drinks after the show. To top it off, and to show First Ave’s hypocrisy, a friend of a friend got into Voltage for free by simply holding up his hand and walking through the front doors. He didn’t have a stamp to show off, but he played it like he did, and got in.
We took all of Nathan’s stuff to their car in the Target Center ramp, then proceeded to Sound Bar for the afterparty. None of us had heard of it, and with good reason. Last year’s party was fairly lame, and again I barely got let in because the Voltage crew were only allowed one +1. This year though, anyone could get in with a $3 cover. Or at least that’s what we were told.
We got a little lost, and as we walked up we noticed a small crowd and a velvet rope. I was fumbling for my ID when I heard a little commotion. Greg (Nathan’s S.O.) was trying to hand over his ID for inspection to one of the two bouncers. Nathan was getting his Voltage tag out. He said that we’re here for the Voltage party. The bouncer was unresponsive. Greg noticed that he was starting at Nathan’s feet. The bouncer, noticeably Easter European, turned to his buddy and whispered something. Nathan waved his Designer tag in front of him again and the bouncer replied, “We don’t allow white shoes.”
I began to cackle. Greg huffed and Nathan simply said, “Seriously? Well fuck this!” with his best diva hand action. We walked off, me still cackling. The party was partly for Nathan, yet he’s not allowed inside this ridiculously pretentious Minneapolis bar because of his super cute, uber hip, off-white Keds. Ummm, yeah. Well, better him than me in my super cute retro Nike slip-ons.
We returned to the Target Center ramp where Greg and Nathan took off long before me because my car was a little farther away. It took me a bit to find my way off the top floor (there was a Timberwolves game), but when I finally reach the exit, Greg and Nathan were still at the toll booth thingy. I could see Nathan’s siloutte obviously shouting at the toll guy, and Greg trying to hand the toll guy money. The toll guy had a ticket in his hand, but got out and wrote down their plate number. Meanwhile, I’m thinking the toll guy must not be honoring the tickets we already paid for ($10, thank you very much) due to some stupid post-midnight rule or something.
Finally Greg and Nathan pulled away, after much more shouting from Nathan. I pull up to the booth and said to the guy, “So you’re not honoring these tickets?” The guy replied, “They lost their ticket. They had to pay for lost ticket charge.” The money and lost ticket ticket (yes, he generates a ticket for a lost ticket) is still in his hand. I get a little flustered and apologize. Pretending I didn’t know the trouble-makers, I offer the possibility that the men had a bad day. I talked with the toll booth guy for a good couple of minutes, trying to make him feel better. He was near tears, and appreciated my concern.
Nathan called after I pulled out and he said that they had no idea that they needed to take a ticket when they entered, which was obviously the toll guy’s fault. *Sigh*.
We’re all rude and pretentious sometimes, but Minneapolis was full of it last night.
I finished reading Charlie Chaplin’s autobiography late last week, and I am now officially obsessed. After I was done, I missed reading it before bed. Luckily I had queued up a bunch of his films on Netflix. I watched “City Lights” early on Sunday and basically never stopped watching or reading Chaplin-related stuff the whole day (turns out there’s tons of obsessed fans who create YouTube mashups or compilations. Today has felt incomplete without being inundated with the Tramp.
One of the YouTube compilation vids featured what appeared to be Chaplin in drag. The author kindly sent me all her pics of Charlie dressed in high flapper gear. Here’s a couple.
I think the biggest reason (beyond his pure genius) I love him is because of his politics. The fact that he was driven from America shortly after he began his talking pictures proved what a powerful political voice he could have become. In some ways I feel like he was born slightly too early. That if he’d been born 10 or 20 years later, he could have been the old guy amongst the hippies chanting for peace. But he certainly wouldn’t have the comic talent he had if he was born later. He was very old-fashioned, and lagged behind the times in Hollywood in many ways. He was more innovative in his politics and comedy than in his directing films.
He reminds me a lot of John Lennon. Both are English, spent much of their adult lives in America, slept around and didn’t really settle down until late in life, followed by the FBI because of their strong leftist leanings, led their field in terms of talent and popularity, and made daring art for their time.
Two technological advances have recently been added to my apartment.
Number one is a Wii. After searching several spots in Eau Claire, Wisconsin last Saturday, I finally found one of seven available at SuperTarget the next day. So I “worked out” with WiiSports all week, and it seems to be working. I’m no longer sore for two days after playing baseball.
Yesterday I purchased Mario Galaxy, which has proven to be as much of a time suck as I expected. However, I think it gave me a migraine today. After getting hung up on a couple levels, I decided to google solutions to killing the bosses. Turns out, some dude has recorded his plays with perfect quality and uploaded them to, what else, YouTube. Mario Galaxy is a really good game. The storyline is actually really good and could easily be a children’s fantasy cartoon or picture book. And every level is so visually creative. I don’t know how those Japanese do it. No wonder it’s the top rated Wii game thusfar, according to Metacritic.
The number two technical advance in my apartment is the Le Bistro automatic pet feeder. 
My cat has been causing me a lot of trouble, waking me up between 5:00 and 6:30 to feed her. I’m hoping the feeder will solve that issue, but it hasn’t after five days. We’ll see. Like everyone else who has purchased Le Bistro, I thought it was a bitch to program. There’s only three buttons, but it’s impossible to keep what they do straight with every level within the menu. Somehow I accidentally changed the actual time and added lunch (normally Amelia is only fed breakfast and dinner) so she may have been getting four meals for two days.
Yay for crap the middle class wastes money on!
Non-tech-P.S. I met Alan Sparhawk from Low last night! He’s friends with my friend Chad. I tried to keep the convo as normal as possible, and it seemed to work. We discussed SXSW, trail mix, and some other stuff I’ve already forgotten. I didn’t say anything gushy, which I sort of regret. Super nice guy.
So I went to Stereogum today because a friend recommended this cover of Radiohead’s “Just”. I wanted to watch this clever and jumpy adaptation, but I was distracted by the ad to the right side of the page.
Louie Anderson? Really? It’s a local ad, too. For Treasure Island near Rochester, Minnesota. Yeah, that’s some fancy ad targeting in terms of geography, but WTF was it doing on STEREOGUM, the music blog for the kids who are so cool they diss Pitchfork openly?
I present to you, dear reader, my take on the leading presidential candidates’s websites. Although I’ve been scoffed by one for this idea, I think we will discover some interesting insight into these people who may lead the free world for the next four years.
Please note that I viewed all sites with Firefox on my Mac, and with IE7 on my XP machine.
Home/splash page: Sometimes I get a splash screen displaying a jovial image of Johny with a request for you to join the site, and of course donate. The deep red for the Donate Now and Submit buttons stands out nicely against the black background. The only way to get past the splash page is a text link under the large image. Fair enough, but ugly. The home page itself is nicely organized, if somewhat repetitive. For example, there’s two identical (but for color) buttons to join and donate within 200 pixels of each other.
Color: McCain’s site is dramatically different from those of any other candidate mainly because of the primary color chosen: black. Now, if you’re trying to convey that a 71-year old can run the United States, black is not the best color to use. The banner across all pages is the stars of the American flag in black coloring. Seriously — are you trying to convey death, Mr. McCain?
Overall mood: Like Tales from the Crypt needs money for a new coffin.
Web 2.0 features:
Favicon/logo: It looks like a general’s star. I suppose it’s just meant to signify the armed forces, which is an incredibly stupid thing to do in the general election.
Usability: The fonts and layout look pretty fresh, despite the dismal colors. I really dig the animation in the “Supporter Spotlight” section of the home page. His navigation style follows that of the other major candidates.
Desperation rating: 4 out of 10. McCain doesn’t come off as desperate here, he comes off as a man who knows his audience.
Although not related directly to his website, I want to share this story. Last week, my mom received two pre-recorded calls. The voice was female, stating she was calling from the Republican party. The message asked my mom to press the number of the Republican candidate she was going to vote for at her primary on Tuesday: 1 for Ron Paul, 2 for John McCain, and 3 for Mike Huckabee. Even though she’s never voted Republican and isn’t about to start, she entered 3 for Mike Huckabee. Then the voice thanked her and mentioned this call was paid for by John McCain. She got the very same call the following night. We joked that they’ll keep calling until she “gets it right”. How is cold calling like that effective, especially if you’re calling people who aren’t even going to vote Republican?
Home/splash page: I get a splash screen every time I visit Hillary’s site. Instead of the minimal email addressed asked for on McCain’s site, Hillary wants to know my name, zip code and email address. The home page itself displays a huge graphic/animation at the top, which I’m sure changes all the time. The “5 Things You Can Do” pod is super nice — the icons are very modern, even if they were likely taken from stock icons. The little show/hide bits in the other pods make the site feel more interactive.
Color: Light blue is always a crowd-pleaser. Everyone but McCain got that memo. Hillary’s definitely going for the red white and blue patriotic thing here, trumping McCain.
Web 2.0 features:
McCain’s team seems to be more in touch with the kids than Hillary in terms of community stuff. Sure, there’s tons of ways to “join team Hillary” and there are links to sponsoring or visiting Hillary parties, but there’s no “McCainSpace” or any other sort of faux Facebook type thing built in. Granted, she does include the logos of all the biggies — MySpace, Facebook, even Flickr. And yes, it points to Hillary Clinton’s photos. She’s got a pro account!
Favicon/logo: I guess the favicon is a mishmash of the flowy flag-like thing under her name in the proper logo, but it looks really weird. Like a bunch of random right angles. The proper logo itself is probably the ugliest of all candidates. It’s an ugly font and decidedly not modern looking.
Usability: The layout is nice because it uses a very simple grid (like everyone else’s), but all the huge logos and graphics near the bottom of the home page make it look a little trashy.
Overall mood: Very hopeful. It’s interesting to note how few pictures of Hillary there are around the site. Do they want us to forget she’s a woman? Do they know how easy it is for her to take a bad picture and they don’t want to risk it?
Desperation rating: 6 out of 10. The “Help make history” motto makes her sound like she’s the only one who would “make history” if nominated.
Home/splash page: The splash page contains a soft pic of the Obama family, huddled together with much love. His fabulously Web 2.0 logo and motto sits above the family in a simple display with plenty of breathing room. There’s no immediate request to give him money on the splash page, just a short form (email and zip code) to “join the movement”. Skipping sign up is accessed by a pretty blue button.
Color: In fact, everything is pretty and blue on Obama’s site. Everything has a soft touch to it, almost feminine. Nicely played, Barack’s web team.
Web 2.0 features: Barack’s web team knows where it’s audience is. More obviously fun than McCain’s “McCainSpace”, my.barackobama.com is like Facebook lite, even in terms of it’s look and feel. Members get a dashboard, can see who from their area is already a member, a place to blog for Obama, and other fun things to keep you glued to the site. This is brilliant marketing to the 35 and younger crowd (and other internet-savvy types). Additionally, there’s the regular Obama blog and the Clinton-esque list with fancy icons on the home page.
Favicon/logo: As I’ve already stated, Obama’s logo is pure genius. It’s a red white and blue horizon, looking as hopeful as ever. It’s all shiny and beveled, looking a thousand times more modern than Hillary’s.
Usability: Obama’s is by far the most usable site. It’s the least crammed, the least messy of all the candidate’s sites.
Overall mood: The banner on every page features Barack looking out into the horizon, symbolized in his fun little logo. He appears tall and strong in the banner image — like a leader.
Desperation rating: 4 out of 10. Obama only comes off as classy on his website, not desperate in the least bit.
One thing worth noting is the lack of a search function on all of them except McCain’s. I’m not sure what this says about Obama and Clinton. Surely it’s an intentional decision that was made by some committee, but how does not including a search function help? What are they hiding?
Another item I’ll briefly note here is the fact that neither Obama nor Clintion include gay rights in their list of “issues.”
I could go on, but this report already took a lot of time. Hopefully more analysis will come later. Let me know what you think about our favorite candidate’s web site!
I had an AMAZING experience at my caucus! I absolutely loved it. I’m still on a high from it.
When I came up to the intersection where I needed to turn left to get to my caucus place, I saw a long line of tail lights. I thought maybe a school event was going on because the polling place was a Junior High school, but much to my surprise, they were all going to caucus! And they were all going to the Democratictic caucus, which surprised me even more because I technically live in a very affluent district. The place was a madhouse.
I expected 20-40 people total. I didn’t realize we’d be separated by precinct. Nobody knew that they needed their pricint number so they were mobbed around a map. Finally I found my room where there were already people sitting on the floor and leaning against walls. They’d run out of ballots (I got there a little before 7:00), so I voted for prez on a folded post-it note. The ballots went into a modified shoe box. We proceeded with party business, picking delegates and leaders for our state contests. There were lots of eagar volunteers.
There were even some testy spots (who the delegates vote for was one), but it was great. People were really passionate. While they counted ballots, two people proposed resolutions for the DFL to endorse. Both failed. One was to institute a vote-by-mail system (I spoke against that one heartily) and someone wanted the education budget to come 70% from the federal goverment.
Then we got the results. There was a total of 147 votes (plus one late comer we allowed, but I don’t know how she voted). 47 for Clinton, 95 Obama and 5 Uncommitted. People cheered.
It was so much fun. I can’t wait for the next one. :)